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Hadley’s Intro: What goes on your skin goes into your bloodstream, so avoid lathering your skin with toxic ingredients in sun screens, bug sprays, beauty products. Every summer, parents spray toxic bug sprays on their children, without knowing the neurological damage and behavior problems this causes. Get scientific reasons to throw out toxic bug repellants today. Discover safe, non-toxic repellants that you make at home to repel mosquito, flee and tick-bourne illness from America’s Wellness Expert,

Dr. Joseph Mercola:

Simple Preventative Measures to Avoid Mosquito Bites

Mosquito’s are probably the most pervasive when it comes to biting bugs. You can avoid most assaults by staying inside around dawn and dusk, which is when they are most active. If you must be out during those times, wear light-colored, long sleeved shirts and long pants, hats and socks.

Mosquitoes are also thicker in shrubby areas and near standing water. Body temperature and skin chemicals like lactic acid also attract mosquitoes, so trying to stay as cool and dry as possible may also help to some degree.

The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) has a helpful factsheet8 of things you can do to prevent mosquito breeding on your property. The Three D’s of protection from mosquitoes are:

Drain—Mosquitoes require water in which to breed, so carefully drain any and all sources of standing water around your house and yard, including pet bowls, gutters, garbage- and recycling bins, spare tires, bird baths and so on
Dress—Light colored, loose fitting clothing offer the greatest protection
Defend—Again, I recommend avoiding most chemical repellents, especially those containing DEET or permethrin. (The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recently released an extensive review of bug repellants, and virtually all of them are associated with health hazards9.) Instead, try some of the natural alternatives suggested in this article

Besides draining all sources of standing water and dressing appropriately, the following ideas can help reduce the mosquito population around your yard:

Add some bat boxes: Bat houses are becoming increasingly popular since bats are voracious consumers of insects, especially mosquitoes. For more on buying a bat house or constructing one yourself, visit the Organization for Bat Conservation10.
Plant marigolds: Planting marigolds around your yard works as a bug repellent because the flowers give off a fragrance that bugs do not like. This is a great way to ward off mosquitoes without using chemical insecticides.
Blow ‘em away… As a last minute fix, a simple house fan can help keep mosquitoes at bay if you’re having a get-together in your backyard.

DIY Bug Repellants

Your diet may have something to do with your popularity with the mosquitoes. To reduce your attractiveness, you may want to forgo bananas during mosquito season. According to alternative health nutritionist Dr. Janet Starr Hull, “there’s something about how your body processes the banana oil that attracts these female sugar-loving insects.” She also recommends supplementing with one vitamin B-1 tablet a day from April through October, and then adding 100 mg of B-1 to a B-100 Complex daily during the mosquito season to make you less attractive to mosquitoes.

Regularly consuming garlic or garlic capsules may also help protect against both mosquito and tick bites. Bear in mind, the best way to avoid ticks is to make sure you tuck your pants into your socks and wear closed shoes and a hat—especially if venturing out into wooded areas. You can also make your own mosquito repellent using any of the following:

Cinnamon leaf oil (one study found it was more effective at killing mosquitoes than DEET)
Clear liquid vanilla extract mixed with olive oil
Wash with citronella soap, and then put some 100% pure citronella essential oil on your skin. Java Citronella is considered the highest quality citronella on the market
Catnip oil (according to one study, this oil is 10 times more effective than DEET12)

Another option is to use the safe solution I formulated to repel mosquitoes, fleas, chiggers, ticks, and other biting insects. It’s a natural insect repellant with a combination of citronella, lemongrass oil, peppermint oil, and vanillin. An independent study showed it was more effective than a product containing 100 percent DEET. And it’s safe for you, your children, and your pets.

Safer Alternatives for Ant, Roach, Lice and Flea Control

With mosquito control out of the way, what about other pesky bugs? Not to worry, there are safer alternatives for most infestations. For example:

Knock out roaches, ants and termites with boric acid powder. Sprinkle some in the inner corners of your cabinets and in the corners under your cabinets. Pests will carry it back to their nests on their feet and kill the remainder of the infestation. Boric acid is generally non-toxic for animals, but you’d still be well-advised to place it in areas where your pet will not ingest or inhale it, as it kills bugs by causing dehydration.
Treat head lice with an old-fashioned nit comb and essential oils of anise and ylang ylang, combined into a spray. This has been found to be highly effective in eliminating over 90 percent of head lice.
Control your pet’s fleas and ticks with safe, natural pest repellents, such as:
Cedar oil
Natural, food-grade diatomaceous earth
Fresh garlic — work with your holistic vet to determine a safe amount for your pet’s body weight
Feeding your pet a balanced, species-appropriate diet. The healthier your dog or cat is, the less appealing she’ll be to parasites. A biologically appropriate diet supports a strong immune system.
Bathing and brushing your pet regularly and performing frequent full-body inspections to check for parasite activity.